1872 $3, PL MS(PCGS#87994)

Spring 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

3104

等级

MS66PL

价格

840,564

详细说明

Stunning Prooflike Gem 1872 $3 Gold Coin Finest Certified at PCGS 1872 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. MS-66 PL (PCGS). Far and away the finest circulation strike 1872 three-dollar gold piece that your cataloger (JLA) has ever handled, this exquisite premium Gem edges out the MS-65+ Pogue specimen to rank as the sole finest certified at PCGS. (NGC has not certified a single example finer than MS-64+ PL.) It is a numismatic treasure par excellence with vivid rose-orange surfaces that are as bright and fresh as the day of striking. Razor sharp to full detail graces the design elements, which are satiny and contrast nicely with semi-mirrored reflectivity in the fields. Silky smooth and close to pristine, this coin is a leading highlight of the current collection, and will be an unsurpassable addition to the next gold cabinet in which it is included. By 1872 the three-dollar gold denomination had become all but meaningless in commerce. No $3s had been seen in circulation in the East and Midwest for more than 10 years, and with no mintage in the denomination forthcoming from San Francisco since 1860, the small amount of examples seen there in circulation were typically well worn older dates. The Philadelphia Mint continued to make small quantities of circulation strikes each year as they were often purchased, at a premium if using paper money, for holiday and birthday gifts, as well as by contemporary numismatists. In the early part of the 20th century Thomas L. Elder and others sought three-dollar coins from bank tellers and other sources. Elder's efforts made him the primary source of quality pieces for many collectors but by that time, the coins had been in commerce for at least three decades and most showed wear. Today, most high grade 1872 three-dollar gold coins can trace their origin to Elder. Two-thirds of the issue are believed extant but, as above, most of the coins acquired by Elder were circulated and only 60 or so are Uncirculated. The majority of those are at the very lowest Mint State levels, and even Choice coins in MS-63 and MS-64 are highly elusive. Gems are so rare that most collectors will go a lifetime without even seeing one. Here is a highly significant opportunity for the specialist in this unusual denomination. Our consignor acquired this coin from the famous Charles Jay Collection sale of October 1967, in which it was cataloged as a "Brilliant Proof." The diagnostics confirm it as a circulation strike, although at the Gem level the 1872 is actually rarer in this format than as a Proof. The coin has been off the market since our (Stack's) Jay Collection sale and is making its first appearance at auction in more than half a century. Provenance: From the Huberman Collection. Earlier ex our (Stack's) sale of the Charles Jay Collection, October 1967, lot 284, where it was cataloged as a "Brilliant Proof." Lot tag included. PCGS Population: 2 in all grades in the PL category, MS-62 PL and the present example in MS-66 PL. There are no non-PL examples certified by PCGS finer than MS-65+. PCGS# 87994. NGC ID: 25MV. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA. Click here to see Coins in Motion.[“Coins]